Longtan Wild "The One" Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea - Summer 2021

Caught us by complete surprise, we finallly met this legendary varietal that was mostly known on text book. A long lost varietal that was discovered on the edge of an already half abandoned plantation. 

Longtan District in Taoyuan, like many other places in Taoyuan, used to be one of the most important tea production area since the rule of Japanese Empire. Most of the tea grown here were used for black tea exportation. The tea culture and industry was more or less preserved, so you are still able to find tea plantation around, however the production work were mostly sent to places like Emei. This place is like a wonder land of ancient tea that is waiting to be re-discovered again by the world. 

Unlike lots of TTES tea you may already know, TTES #1 has no fancy name like its siblings despite being the first tea to carry the "TTES" title in 1969.  There are not much information to be found about this tea. We have not much clue of why it was created and under what condition it was created, all we know is its parental varietal and nothing more, so the exploration will have to come from testing and tasting in the future.

Finally, a great mystery to us still remains - why was it abandoned by the market? Because from this work by Mr. Hsu, this is a varietal with deep depth like Wu Yi varietal that carries a lingering body in the mouth. All we wish now is the remaining trees at this plantation will thrive and stay well, and the mystery of "The One" will be decoded one day. 

Harvest:  Summer 2021 / 夏 貳零貳壹

Varietal:  TTES #1 / 台茶一號

Elevation:  300 M / 參佰 公尺

Region:  Taoyuan Longtan / 桃園 龍潭

Fermentation Level:  75% / 分之 柒拾伍

Roast Level: 0 / 無

 Still Savouring.......

 Very full and thick flavors, really reminds me of a Taiwanese black tea after a few steeps, somewhat like a shan cha. Complex character not so easy to pin down but easy to sit with and feel.

 An old dog is kneeling in front of this tea now. Review will come out later on.